CEMENTATION

EXPONENT
DETERMINATION
Cementation Exponent
in a nutshell
■ The cementation exponent, m, indicates reduction in the number
and size of pore opening or reduction in the closed-off channels.
■ The cementation exponent exhibits wide variations from sample to
sample, formation to formation, interval to interval in the same
medium, and from medium to medium.
■ Wyllie and Rose (1950) stated that m can vary in the
mathematical sense between one and infinity, but practically, it
lies within the limits of 1.3 and 3.0, as originally observed by
Archie (1942).
■ Keller (1982) summarized different values for m, showing that m
is affected by lithology, porosity, degrees of compaction and
cementation, and age.

in Salem & Chilingarian, 1999

Cementation Exponent
in a nutshell (cont’d)
■ Ehrlich et al. (1991) showed that m varies widely and changes
continuously in the borehole due to variations in depositional
subfacies.
■ The general range of m, given in the literature, is between slightly
less than 1 for fractured rocks (Aguilera, 1976; Jorgensen, 1988)
and 5.12 for well consolidated and highly compacted rocks (Wyble,
1958).

in Salem & Chilingarian, 1999

The Archie Relation
■ Based on empirical observations mainly on sandstones,
Archie (1942) described the relationship between the
formation resistivity factor, FR, and porosity, ф, as being
exponential.

in Focke & Munn, 1987

■ We can rewrite the equation as follows: Log F

m  -log F - log 1  / log  

or
m  -Log F / log  
Modified Archie’s Equation
■ Winsauer et al. (1952) modified Archies’s equation by adding
the pore-geometry factor (or tortuosity factor, a), known as
Archie-Winsauer equation:

leads to:

■ The value of a can be assumed or obtain as the intersection

of the best fitting line of the F–ф relationship at 100%
porosity (Wyllie, 1957).

in Salem & Chilingarian, 1999

Modified Archie’s Equation
(cont’d)
■ Winsauer et al. (1952) generalized values of 0.62 for a and
2.15 for m for sandstones (Humble equation):

■ Researchers gave or used various values of a for different

lithologies. For example, Parkhomento (1967) obtained a
value of 0.40 for a, representing different consolidated
sandstones.

in Salem & Chilingarian, 1999

Cementation Exponent for Carbonate
Reservoir (Case Study: Middle Eastern)
Method
■ All available core plugs from reservoirs offshore Qatar were
petrographically analyzed in thin section and the data plotted
separately, according to categories based on rock type and
porosity type.
■ The permeability of each sample was determined before the
FR measurement was performed.
■ FR was measured at a range of pressures, including the
effective overburden pressure prevailing in the reservoir from
which the sample was taken.
■ Most data refer to clean carbonate rock which FR does not
appear to be affected by the brine’ s resistivity.
■ Simulated formation water was used in all laboratory
measurements.
Focke & Munn, 1987
Schematic of the major
genetic porosity types
used in this study
Focke & Munn, 1987
Rock Type 1 through 3
■ They show a very similar resistivity response because they all
have an interparticle porosity type. These rock type shows a
straight-line relationship of with m = 2 at b = 1.
■ At low porosities (below about 5%), m values appear to be
consistently less than 2.

Focke & Munn, 1987

Rock Type 4
■ Resistivity data was sperated into four permeability classes to
reduce some extent the very wide scatter in the data.
Permeability Class 1 (less than 0.1 mD)

Permeability Class 2 (0.1 to 1 mD)

Permeability Class 2 (1 to 100 mD)

Permeability Class 2 (1 to 100 mD)

Focke & Munn, 1987

Another Result
■ Rock Type 5
On the basis of available data, a constant average m value
of 2.4 is suggested as a currently reasonable
representative for this rock type.
■ Rock Type 6
m values reasonably constant at around 2.0.
■ Rock Type 7
m value tends to increase above 2, depending on the
amount and degree of interconnection of the vuggy
porosity in the rock.
■ Rock Type 8
Very few consistent laboratory data are available for this
rock type. Based on literature data and the fact that m
values are decreased by straight pathways present in the
rock that also depend on orientation.

Focke & Munn, 1987

References
■ Focke, J.W., Munn, D., 1987. Cementation exponents in
Middle Eastern carbonate reservoirs. SPE Formation
Evaluation, June.
■ Salem, H.S., Chilingarian, G.V., 1999. The cementation factor
of Archie;s equation for shaly sandstone reservoirs. J. Pet. Sci.
Eng. 23, 83 – 93.
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